23 bodies found in Ethiopian plane crash

Beirut- 90 people were on board in an Ethiopian Airlines plane when it crashed into the sea after taking off from Beirut early Monday. Remains from the crash were washed ahore. At least 23 bodies were recovered.

Lebanese President Michel Suleiman is ruling out terrorism. He said that the weather on Monday is a big factor in this incident. Flight 409 was headed for the Ethiopian capital, Addis Ababa.

According to Ghazi Aridi, the public works and transportation minister, the Boeing 737 took off around 2:30am (7:30p.m EST), and went down 2 miles off the coast. Then the plane caught fire shortly after takeoff.

According to the French embassy, the wife of Dennis Pietton, the French ambassador of Lebanon, was on the plane.

Reports said that the aircraft had passed inspection and had been serviced on December 25.